Knitted hosiery such as women's panty hose has long been known, and a wide variety of designs for such hosiery have been proposed. Such undergarments generally cover the waist, legs, and optionally the feet of the wearer. See, for example, Harper U.S. Pat. No. 4,133,054, issued June 9, 1979, Appleton U.S. Pat. No. 256,532, issued Apr. 18, 1882, Artzt U.S. Pat. No. 2,664,570, issued Jan. 5, 1954, Bedier U.S. Pat. No. 4,445,345, issued May 1, 1984, Fisher et al. U.S. Pat. No. 3,808,842, issued May 7, 1974, and Baynes British Patent No. 1,210,544, published Oct. 28, 1970. Such hosiery is often knitted on a circular knitting machine and then assembled from a pair of tubular knitted blanks.
Some such garments provide separate stocking and panty portions which are sewn together at a seam (e.g., Rice U.S. Pat. No. 2,826,760, issued Mar. 18, 1958) or knitted together continuously (e.g., Safrit et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,213,312, issued July 22, 1980). Elastic fabrics such as spandex have been incorporated into the panty portion of such garments to provide a "control top" at the waist or belly, and to impart a decorative pattern to the garment. See, in particular, Cassidy, Sr. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,933,013, issued Jan. 20, 1976, and 3,956,906, issued May 18, 1976 and Safrit U.S. Pat. No. 3,595,034, issued July 27, 1971. Reinforced waistbands for panty hose are also well known, as exemiplified by Cassidy, Sr. U.S. Pat. No. 4,150,554, issued Apr. 24, 1979 as are reinforced bands located so as to facilitate the wearer in fitting the leg portion of the panty hose over the leg, as exemplified by Tino U.S. Pat. No. 4,267,607, issued May 19, 1981.
Women's nylons have been provided with reinforced heel and toe portions. See the Harper patent cited above, and Taylor U.S. Pat. No. 1,227,217, issued May 22, 1917. Women's combination garments having a plurality of different portions of varying design including a body portion, an upper leg portion and a lower leg portion are also known. See, e.g., Germany Patent No. 29 09 613, dated Sept. 18, 1980, and Charnos Limited British Patent No. 1,266,927, published Mar. 15, 1972.
Long underwear and athletic undergarments which cover the lower half of the body, sometimes excluding the feet, are also well known. Note, for example, Kearn U.S. Pat. No. 4,091,466, issued May 30, 1978 and Derderian U.S. Pat. No. 4,625,336, issued Dec. 2, 1986. In an early design, a sock is releasably secured to a stocking so that it could be removed and replaced when soiled or worn beyond use (Ryan U.S. Pat. No. 319,131, issued June 2, 1885). Another known garment provides a pair of athletic socks which are sewn to the bottom ends of the stocking portions of a support hose undergarment. See White U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,368,546, issued Jan. 18, 1983, and 4,506,392, issued Mar. 26, 1985.
With the exception of long underwear and certain athletic undergarments, modern panty hose has been designed exclusively for women. Women's panty hose offer a number of advantages over long underwear currently sold to men. Panty hose is relatively light weight as compared to long underwear, and is made with sufficent elasticity to resiliently support the legs. Such support can improve blood circulation in the legs, especially in older persons. Long underwear is also bulky and difficult to wear under other clothing as compared to panty hose.
Use by men of women's panty hose has proven unsatisfactory in practice. The panty hose fits poorly because it is configured to the shape of a woman's body, not a man's. High top socks (knee socks) tend to sag when worn over panty hose made of a synthetic fabric such as nylon unless the socks have a tight, relatively thin top elastic band. Such a tight, thin band is uncomfortable and can defeat the circulation-improving effects of the support hose. Men who wear ordinary socks over support hose for long periods also risk blistering of the feet due to sliding contact between the two unattached sock layers. Moreover, the synthetic fabric of the support hose has poor moisture transmitting characteristics. This causes perspiration to collect between the foot and the fabric of the support hose.
One combination garment proposed for men and boys is exemplified in Isley U.S. Pat. No. 3,020,556, issued Feb. 13, 1962. This garment, formed of a plurality of parts, is knit flat and thus includes seams extending longitudinally about the length of the leg portion of the garment. Such seams are both unsightly to observers and uncomfortable to persons wearing those garments. Particularly when the seam is placed upon the inside of the garment, continual wearing of the garment can lead to chaffing or irritation of the wearer's leg or other portion of the wearer's lower body. The possibility of separation of the garment is increased at the seam site when forces are exerted thereon by the wearer's movements in stretching or bending. Furthermore, manufacture of such seamed garments is both costly and time consuming.
Seamless knitting machines, or circular knitting machines, are of limited use in making undergarments. The typical size of a cylinder on a seamless knitting machine ranges from about 3.5 inches to about 4.0 inches, more specifically, from about 3.5 inches to about 3.75 inches in diameter. Moderately heavy two-way stretching yarns, fibers or blends have a limited maximum diameter when knitted in a 3.5 to 3.75 inch tubular blank. The blanks so produced lack sufficient stretchability to stretch and encompass the largest portion of the male (or female) leg, i.e., the highest thigh portion.
While yarns, fibers or blends of a finer denier and higher needle count can be employed to impart greater stretchability, as in women's panty hose, such materials do not provide adequate warmth characteristics. Moreover, the appearance of an undergarment constructed with such finer denier fibers would resemble conventional women's panty hose and thus would be unacceptable to men. Conversely, use of bulky fibers, e.g., as in long underwear, results in a bulky product less suitable for general wear under clothing. Men thus have no garment comparable to women's panty hose which is of a relatively simply construction, is easy to manufacture, and which is free of the foregoing disadvantages.
An outer sock joined at the toe to the toe end of an undergarment suitable for men has been proposed in Staley U.S. Pat. No. 4,870,708, issued Oct. 3, 1989. However, the described undergarment is difficult to manufacture using a circular knitting machine due to the difference in diameter between the weight fabric than conventional women's panty hose, as described above. The present invention provides an improved undergarment which solves this problem.